Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago on Saturday to meet with President-elect Trump.
They were joined by many of the incoming Trump administration's nominees, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), his nominee for secretary of state, according to the pool report. Congressman Mike Walz (R-Florida) is elected National Security Advisor. and Scott Bessent, elected Secretary of the Treasury.
CBS News reported that Trump's nominee for ambassador to Italy, Tilman Fertitta, also attended the meeting.
President Trump praised the Italian prime minister as he greeted a crowd at Mar-a-Lago before a screening of a documentary about his aide John Eastman.
“I'm so excited to be here with a wonderful woman, the Prime Minister of Italy,” President Trump told the audience Saturday night.
“She really took Europe and the rest of the world by storm. We're just going to have dinner tonight,” he added.
Mr. Rubio called Mr. Meloni “a great ally and a strong leader,” according to a pool report from the event.
Meloni, who heads Italy's right-wing government, did not announce his visit in advance, but posted a photo with Trump on social media on Sunday.
“Had a wonderful evening with @realDonaldTrump. Thank you for the welcome. Ready to work together,” Meloni wrote on X, including an image of both countries' flags.
The event comes ahead of President Biden's official visit to Italy later this week, where he is scheduled to meet with Meloni and others.
